Novo Nordisk Insulin Plans Spark Angst Among Diabetes Patients
(Bloomberg) -- About 400 people marched to the South African headquarters of Novo Nordisk A/S in Johannesburg this week demanding greater access to its human insulin and lower prices, while also protesting against the Danish company’s recent decision to phase out easy-to-use pens to deliver the diabetes medication.
The protest in South Africa may be a harbinger of other displays of anger against the company, as the perception grows that a focus on its blockbuster weight-loss treatment means it’s giving short shrift to medications like insulin for diabetes — something Novo vehemently denies. The phasing out of pens for human insulin, an older form of the drug, comes as Novo boosts the production of another type of diabetes medicine, the appetite-reducing shot sold as Ozempic.
Trouble is, Novo’s best-selling weight-loss treatment Wegovy, which has faced shortages, is the same as Ozempic, but at a different dose, and some doctors have prescribed the diabetes-fighting drug off-label to their overweight patients. Novo’s Ozempic and Wegovy pens are produced at some of the same plants that make insulin pens.
The row over insulin access, price and the eventual discontinuation of pens comes against a backdrop of rising cases of the disease worldwide. The number of people with diabetes — that most may have to live with for the rest of their lives — has doubled over the past 30 years to almost 830 million. The fastest increase is in low- and middle-income countries.
South Africa is becoming a flash point. Diabetes is the leading underlying cause of death among women in the country, which has overburdened public facilities that currently serve about 84% of the population. The remaining 16% who can afford private insurance often have access to world-class treatment.
Novo will respond in writing to the protesters’ demands by Dec. 13, a South African company representative said.
For now, making insulin locally may help ease the crunch. Aspen Pharmacare Holdings Ltd., based in Durban, is pushing into diabetes care, with a contract to make Novo’s human insulin. Africa’s biggest drugmaker also has an agreement with Eli Lilly & Co.’s to distribute and promote its blockbuster diabetes drug Mounjaro throughout Southern Africa. Ultimately the plan is for Aspen to make the product itself.
